@rory breaker , I think you accidentally hit the disagree button because no rational sane person on this planet would say it's a bad idea to document the condition of your vehicle with photos before turning it over to another party.
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Model S- Cracked windshield during recalled airbag replacement
- Thread starter Fragel77
- Start date
One of the reasons Tesla service is kinda meh is that when anything out of the ordinary happens apparently it is hell for the individual service center to rectify it. I had my S in for some warranty work around April and they left the doors open all day and night (there were no reason too really as they didn’t need to tear anything down). Came back with a paint scuff, they must have walked into it with some tool hanging off their pants or something.
*sugar* happens so now lets just fix it. Before they could even commit to letting their detailers work on it for half an hour and giving me 30 bucks to let my detailer fix the ceramic coating (or 60 and he would buff it as well), apparently these days they need US HQ approval for anything. That took long enough for me to not bother anymore and just paid my detailer myself, since they couldn’t even promise me that if I gave them my car they wouldn’t repaint the entire door that seemed like the best choice. In the end Tesla claimed they couldn’t pay the 60 because they only got approval to work on it in house.
My guess is that’s why the SC is trying to pin this on you, if they admit they destroyed it they are looking at loads of work and a lot of nagging over weeks before HQ gives them an okay to replace the windshield. You will be annoyed either way.
*sugar* happens so now lets just fix it. Before they could even commit to letting their detailers work on it for half an hour and giving me 30 bucks to let my detailer fix the ceramic coating (or 60 and he would buff it as well), apparently these days they need US HQ approval for anything. That took long enough for me to not bother anymore and just paid my detailer myself, since they couldn’t even promise me that if I gave them my car they wouldn’t repaint the entire door that seemed like the best choice. In the end Tesla claimed they couldn’t pay the 60 because they only got approval to work on it in house.
My guess is that’s why the SC is trying to pin this on you, if they admit they destroyed it they are looking at loads of work and a lot of nagging over weeks before HQ gives them an okay to replace the windshield. You will be annoyed either way.
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Yep, I had mobile service replace the passenger airbag and when done he came in the house apologizing for cracking the windshield. Tech told me they have training videos on how to avoid cracking, but it happens. Had to drive too service center where they kept the car for 2 days to repair... No charge, but the interior was covered in dust like they left it sit out without a windshield... Sigh
Even if you do it'll likely be weakened and will likely develop cracks on the edge that spread inward.
If the knife nicks the glass, yah. If they keep the cut in the butyl then it should be fine. Coworker's windshield replacement has an air leak so they are doing a remove, reglue, replace next week. With a spare on hand just in case.
OPs looks more like an impact to the glass than an edge initiated fracture.
Rogue Synapse
Member
Fortunately, my ranger owned up immediately and showed it to me, and quickly made sure a replacement windshield was on order before he left my house, and assured me that Tesla would take care of everything. Because my nearest service center is 2h 20m away, the ranger set up an appointment with SafeLite auto glass here in Asheville, and he showed up at Safelite and did the window replacement along with the Safelite people. Cost to me was zero but I did have to look at a giant crack 1/2 way through my windshield right in my field of vision for about a month.
Pic is immediately before the incident in question...
OrbiterTI4
Member
Yes, both MO and TX have annual safety (and if you live in a large enough county, emissions) inspections. I just remember the windshiled note from MO where I had a chip on the driver's side of a previous vehicle and the inspection site wanted to fix it "to avoid a future violation".
Art VandeIay
Attractive Membrane
Happened to me as well. Went in for a minor center console adjustment and saw them work on my car.
2 techs moved the front seats all the way back lying belly down on my Model S' door sills. As I looked closely, both techs were wearing utility belts with tools hanging from them. Needless to say, both door sills got scratched. The passenger side got heavy scuff marks that were immediately polished off when I highlighted the damage. The driver's side got a deep 1 inch long scratch that took some paint off.
As they finished polishing the passenger side, they regrettably informed me that they didn't have any Obsidian Black Metallic paint in stock in order to touch-up the scratch, just regular black paint, "but they didn't recommend using regular black, as it would not match my metallic paint"...
I ran out of there and dropped my Model S with my detailer who installed the PPF and ceramic coat on my car, who showed me he even had the OEM Tesla paint repair kits. Went back to the service center with my detailer's invoice and fortunately they refunded the full cost.
Moral of the story, do fight this @Fragel77 and let us know how it goes.
how unprofessional....i mean they should be laying down tarps over the seats/floor/sills when doing that.Happened to me as well. Went in for a minor center console adjustment and saw them work on my car.
2 techs moved the front seats all the way back lying belly down on my Model S' door sills. As I looked closely, both techs were wearing utility belts with tools hanging from them. Needless to say, both door sills got scratched. The passenger side got heavy scuff marks that were immediately polished off when I highlighted the damage. The driver's side got a deep 1 inch long scratch that took some paint off.
As they finished polishing the passenger side, they regrettably informed me that they didn't have any Obsidian Black Metallic paint in stock in order to touch-up the scratch, just regular black paint, "but they didn't recommend using regular black, as it would not match my metallic paint"...
I ran out of there and dropped my Model S with my detailer who installed the PPF and ceramic coat on my car, who showed me he even had the OEM Tesla paint repair kits. Went back to the service center with my detailer's invoice and fortunately they refunded the full cost.
Moral of the story, do fight this @Fragel77 and let us know how it goes.
Update: I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau here in Columbus, OH. After about two weeks I got a call from the manager of the Tesla service center. After a very soft attempt at denying they had any record of the crack occurring while in service- the manager asked me 'what would make me happy?' I told him to just replace the damage that occurred while servicing the recall. The manager also stated they do not remove the windshield when replacing an airbag (contradicting the initial response from Tesla).
I was scheduled the next week (today) and I am happy to announce I picked up my model S today, with a brand new windshield and no cracks this time! I have to say.. there was definitely some bitterness on their end as they tried telling me they were low on loaners, and asked me "if I was okay with ubering for the day." Obviously I laughed at the request and was then presented a key to a half dead model S loaner. I couldn't help but laugh, but chalk this up as a win for the good guys!
Thank you all for your help and recommendations on this!
I was scheduled the next week (today) and I am happy to announce I picked up my model S today, with a brand new windshield and no cracks this time! I have to say.. there was definitely some bitterness on their end as they tried telling me they were low on loaners, and asked me "if I was okay with ubering for the day." Obviously I laughed at the request and was then presented a key to a half dead model S loaner. I couldn't help but laugh, but chalk this up as a win for the good guys!
Thank you all for your help and recommendations on this!
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I concur. I have the Model S service manual and the procedure for replacing the airbags does not include removing the windshield.
Very disappointing that they would take this approach. After all, if there had not already been a (small) crack, whatever they did would have damaged the windshield and they would have had to repair it. So they are on the hook for it!
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